Would You Change Me?
by S'layitalldown
Summary: Isobel needed to meet a vampire, to give her life and her work meaning and the moment finally arrives when Damon meets her in a secluded bar. All her intentions to be the woman she had become disappear under the gaze of those compelling blue eyes. No warnings, short drabble to start, flexing writing muscles.
1. Chapter 1

Isobel knew deep down that it wasn't enough. Knowing what she knew and yet not really understanding it. In her understanding of the universe and all it contained, vampires were real, magic was real, werewolves were real, the power untapped and unexplored. She was forced by generations of secrecy and denial to call her work 'theoretic', even fiction in some places but she ached for validation. She _knew_ just as sure as she could buy a hybrid car or eat a tofurkey dinner that a vampire could walk through the door of this quiet little bar and shake her hand. She couldn't have waited another day for proof of her studies and yet her belief in it was so unshakable, why did this need drive her? Did palaeontologists feel this way? She wasn't being guided by faith, she was being guided by truth, by facts. Maybe some vampire fossils would make her feel more connected.

She smirked at her inner monologue. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror across the bar behind the spirit bottles. The dim light softened her face, it stole some of the lines she usually saw in her skin when she smiled.

She studied her own reflection more intently. What would he think of her? Would he speak the truth? Would he compel her to forget it once he did? Would the truth be everything she was looking for?

She felt eyes upon her and turned in her seat, catching a glimpse of a figure in the doorway of the room.

That had to be him. Even though he was across the room she could see his every perfect detail. Those blue eyes were too vivid to be real. The dark lashes, the cocky smile, the predatory gaze... that was the face of a demon in an angel's body.

"Damon." she breathed reverently.

He nodded and her heart pounded dangerously. She was sure he could hear that too, his smile widened to show perfect white teeth.

She blinked and he was in front of her.

"You must be Isobel." he purred at her, taking his time to study her surprised face.

Isobel nodded mutely. Was she just going to sit there, frozen like a fool? She barely raised her hand to offer it in hand shake when his cold fingers captured it, lifting it to his cool lips. The back of her hand tingled in delight as he let his kiss linger while he stared into her eyes.

_So easy to compel and yet, she looks so much like her, I have to know._

Isobel could feel him thinking. His eyes seemed to change, they studied her and yet he seemed to look past her at the same time.

A moment of panic filled her.

"Would you turn me?" she blurted out.

She was shocked by the audacity of the question, she couldn't believe her mouth had betrayed her deepest thoughts. Her face filled with anguish and her lips sealed shut.

Damon chuckled. "I might, Isobel, but first you'll have to buy me a drink."


	2. Chapter 2

Isobel woke slowly, sluggish and tired from a restless night. It wasn't until she stepped into the shower that the sensation of water on her skin triggered other memories.

_Damon_, her mind whispered.

She couldn't be sure that Damon hadn't compelled her and yet as she thought of it, she couldn't remember their conversation. She remembered the way he smiled, his expressions, his eyes boring into her as she spoke but for the life of her she couldn't recall a single word nor any topic of discussion in particular.

It amused her that she could recall the timbre of his voice, the slight drawl to some words that made her wonder if it was the remnants of a long-abandoned accent or just an affectation to emphasise his meaning and yet for the life of her she couldn't remember exactly what those words were.

Her heart had pounded the whole time. She was mesmerised by him, his body was cold and yet h vibrated with life and energy, a dark reactor looking for fuel.

The anticipation of seeing him again drove her mad with excitement. She arrived at work with a spring in her step, cheerfully greeting her assistant and setting her to the duties for the day.

She was sipping from her paper coffee-cup as she checked through her emails. Her mind lingered on the details of the night before and the night to come, fantasy blurring with reality as she wondered how far she would go to entice Damon to taste her blood, how she could convince him to turn her.

She was startled from her reverie by a new email.

It was from him. She opened it immediately.

_You're thinking about me._

Her heart pounded.

Another appeared, from Damon again.

_Come outside. I've been thinking about you too._

Her blood seemed to freeze.

He couldn't possibly be here... he was a vampire! A creature of the night!

Or was he?

The flames of her temper licked inside her, setting her blood to boil.

He had to be a vampire, no mortal man could dazzle her like he did, she was no fool to the ways of men... she leapt from her chair, grabbing her coat as she rushed outside.

She didn't know what to expect. She looked around outside, moving along the building until she heard a small whistle.

There he was, concealed in the shadow between two buildings. He grinned cockily. "Miss me?" he asked with a wink.

Isobel smiled back. "Isn't a little dangerous for you out here?" she asked, approaching him carefully.

He squinted at the sun. "I like dangerous." he answered. "And maybe I'm not your typical vampire."

He stepped forward slowly into the morning sunlight, grinning at her as he did. He stepped as close as he could, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. "Until tonight." he whispered, lightly stroking her chin.

"Tonight." she agreed breathlessly.

She decided in that moment that what she would do is whatever she needed to... whatever it would take.


	3. Chapter 3

Isobel swept her powder brush over her skin slowly, lost in a reverie. The sensual feeling of the feather-light bristles along her jawline excited her, but the idea that she would see _him_ again excited her more.

_"Tonight," _he had whispered. Did that one word carry a thousand implications, or did she just hope it did?

The click and gentle scrape of the bedroom door broke her concentration. Her handsome husband entered the room behind her, glancing at her as he took off his sweater and lay it on the bed.

He approached her, bending down to kiss her cheek affectionately. "Going out tonight?" he asked casually.

Isobel met he gaze in the mirror, her eyes wide. "Yes!" she answered quickly. "The girls from work wanted to have a drink or two, I promised I would join them. Girls night thing," she lied easily.

Alaric smiled. "Will you be out long?" he asked.

Isobel dropped her gaze and reached down to find her lipstick, no longer able to maintain eye-contact. "I shouldn't be, it is a school-night after all."

Alaric nodded and moved away to remove more of his clothing. He glanced back now and again, admiring her as she put on the finishing touches to her make-up. Her confidence lifted as she felt his eyes on her. She felt surer of herself as she slipped into a little black dress, stepping into her heels as Alaric moved closer to her to steal a kiss.

"You'll kiss away all my lipstick," she murmured, but let him kiss her again, more deeply.

"Oh no," he whispered with mocking concern. "Then you'll have to stay here with me."

He slid his hands around her waist, pulling her close to his bare chest.

"If I stay, you won't get a chance to miss me," Isobel whispered in his ear teasingly.

Alaric growled a little in playful frustration. He held her for a moment longer before letting her go. "Fine!" he surrendered. "Go, paint the town red. I'll be waiting up for you."

Isobel smiled widely, kissing him once more before leaving the room.

XYX

He was waiting for her at the bar, drinking as he stared at the barmaid. He caught a glimpse of her in the mirror as she arrived, opening her coat to reveal a figure-hugging cocktail dress, her red lips and carefully styled hair clear as a label in bold writing. Damon swallowed his bourbon and ordered another. It took a lot of alcohol to get past the vampire constitution and he was far from feeling its effects. _The trouble is those tiny little mouthfuls they give you_, he thought in annoyance. They had definitely gotten smaller as time went by. He waited until the glass was back in front of him before he turned to greet Isobel.

"Damon," she said confidently, her voice low and smooth. He smiled. He knew she was being deliberately seductive and was more than happy to accommodate it.

"You look breathtaking. How did your husband let you out dressed like that?" he asked.

Isobel blushed a little, pausing a moment to sip the drink placed in front of her. She swallowed gently and settled, the invisible mask of confidence returning to her face. "He almost begged me to stay," she replied. "I would have but it's good for him to miss me."

Damon smirked. She was brave. "You know if I turn you, you can't stay with him. It's part of the unwritten vampire code."

Isobel's breath caught in her throat. Damon could hear her heart start to pound, the minute movement of her veins as blood raced through them.

"Losing him won't compare to what I will gain. Does that mean you'll do it?" she begged hopefully.


	4. Chapter 4

Damon frowned, mildly jarred by a memory. Another girl had begged him to change her, once upon a time. The same pleading tone in her voice when she had asked him sent a haunting pang through him. He pushed the memory aside and frowned deeper.

"I have never met anyone so willing or eager to die simply for the sake of curiosity. What exactly has driven you to this death-wish?" he asked her seriously.

Isobel smiled and took another sip of her drink, toying with the straw for a moment as her eyes looked down. The smile didn't leave her lips, even when she answered him with absolute sincerity. "Selfishness," she stated simply, meeting his eyes with hers. "I have always been selfish. I put myself above others and I make whatever choice I want, for better or worse. I don't have a death-wish, I have a life-wish. I want a new life, I want the freedom that I don't have now. I want to see the world, I want to taste it, hear it, smell it with every breath… and I don't want to care how selfish I am. I want to switch off the guilt that holds me back. I have a lot to feel guilty for, Damon. I shouldn't have to, but I do. I want more than this."

Damon was not impressed. "You want more? More than a loving husband, a career, a life?" he challenged.

Isobel met his challenge calmly. "I want more. This life is too provincial, I have ambition and curiosity that will never be satisfied here."

"So you're not just selfish, you're also greedy," Damon sneered.

Isobel tipped her head slightly, her smile tightening. She placed her drink on the bar and turned her back to it, leaning back against it and pushing her elbows back toward it so her cleavage became more exposed from her revealing dress. "I'm not entirely selfish," she said in a low whisper. "I do have a few things to offer in return." She smiled at him warmly, and arching an eyebrow suggestively.

Damon's frown relaxed a little. He was still wary but now he was tempted. Isobel had the same kind of knowing confidence that he had admired so much in his great love, Katherine Peirce. Her dark hair and cocoa-coloured eyes draw out pleasurable memories that he and Katherine had made, night after night, before her greedy obsession with his brother Stefan undid them all. Well, there was no Stefan here now. Just him… and Isobel.

He relaxed and smiled cockily. "In that case we should start the negotiations," he said, reaching over the bar and taking the bottle of whiskey he had been drinking. "Ladies first," he indicated, pointing towards the door.

Isobel slid from the seat and walked towards the door as calmly as she could but she couldn't keep the excited swagger from swaying her hips as she left the room.


End file.
